Reflections on Leaving the Corporate World: Why We’re Taking This Leap

Hi there,

Welcome to G&T’s World: A Journey of Purpose, Passion, Curiosity, and Freedom

What defines a life well lived? Is it the titles we hold, the milestones we reach, and the recognition we earn? Or is it the memories we create, the relationships we nurture, and the experiences that quietly shape who we become?

For many years, we followed a familiar and respected path. Like many professionals, we committed ourselves to leadership roles, meaningful work, and the responsibilities that come with them. We’re grateful for the growth, the challenges, and the people who influenced us along the way. But over time, a deeper question surfaced. As fulfilling as our careers were, they were only one part of who we are.

The decision to step away from corporate life didn’t happen overnight. It emerged through reflection, changing priorities, and an honest recognition that success, when left unexamined, can become narrow. We began to ask what a well-lived life might look like if it were shaped less by expectation and more by intention.

This space exists for anyone asking similar questions. It’s for those navigating change, reassessing what matters, or sensing that the next chapter requires a different measure of success. Through travel, reflection, and shared stories, we explore what it means to live with purpose, curiosity, and freedom, and how small, intentional choices can reshape not just how we work, but how we live.

If you’re considering what comes next, you’re warmly invited to explore alongside us.

‍Gratitude for the Corporate Journey

Before sharing why we chose to step away, it’s important to acknowledge the genuine value of our corporate years. That chapter mattered. It shaped how we think, lead, and respond under pressure. It taught us about strategy, organisational complexity, risk, and resilience. It provided financial stability, intellectual challenge, and the satisfaction that comes from contributing to something larger than yourself.

We found real purpose in leading teams, navigating complexity, and supporting others to grow into their potential. Those experiences weren’t something to escape. They were something to honour.

And yet, over time, the rhythm of corporate life began to narrow. The familiar cycle of meetings, targets, and routines left less room for curiosity, creativity, and deeper self-exploration. Progress was measurable, but meaning felt increasingly compressed.

Despite outward success, a quieter question kept returning. Were we truly living with intention, or simply moving efficiently through a life shaped by expectations we hadn’t recently paused to question?

That question, more than any single event, became the beginning of change.

‍The Moment, We Knew It Was Time for Change

With each new career milestone, a quiet truth became harder to ignore. No matter how significant a role may feel, none of us are truly indispensable. When someone steps away, organisations adapt. Priorities shift. The work continues.

That realisation was confronting, but it was also clarifying. It prompted questions we could no longer sidestep.

Were we living in a way that reflected what genuinely mattered to us?
Were we defining success for ourselves, or simply following a script shaped by expectation and habit?
And when we looked back years from now, would we feel proud of how we had used our time?

As we sat with those questions, the answer became increasingly clear. Our careers had shaped us, challenged us, and given us purpose for many years. But they were no longer where our deepest fulfilment lived.

Recognising that didn’t diminish what came before. It honoured it. And it gave us the clarity and courage to choose a different path forward.

‍The Deathbed Perspective

One question proved quietly transformative. When we imagined the end of our lives, what would truly matter? Would it be the roles we held and the work we completed, or the lives we touched, the experiences we embraced, and the relationships we nurtured along the way?

The answer was immediate and unmistakable. When viewed through that lens, the pursuit of titles, promotions, and material markers began to lose its weight. In their place came a clearer desire to invest in meaning, connection, and experiences that would endure long after any role ended.

That shift in perspective became a catalyst. It prompted us to redefine success, not as climbing higher within a hierarchy, but as intentionally shaping a life that aligned with our values and reflected what we genuinely wanted to stand for.

It’s a lens available to all of us. When we pause to view our choices from the far end of life, clarity has a way of finding us.

‍Redefining Success on Our Terms

The decision to step away from corporate life wasn’t easy, but it was deliberate. It came from an honest recognition that the life we wanted next required a different definition of success.

We began to imagine a life guided by purpose, passion, curiosity, and freedom, rather than driven solely by routine, obligation, or external expectation. From that clarity, a few simple intentions emerged.

To live with intention rather than default.
To immerse ourselves in different cultures and environments.
To choose experiences over possessions.

Committing to full-time travel became the practical expression of that shift. Success was no longer measured by titles or upward movement, but by alignment. By whether our days reflected what mattered most to us, and whether the life we were building was one we would look back on with genuine pride.

It’s a redefinition available to anyone willing to pause, reflect, and choose differently.

‍A Life Worth Living

Choosing to rewrite our story was never about rejecting what we had built. It was about stepping into the next chapter with greater clarity and intention. For us, that meant seeking new experiences, embracing uncertainty, and learning to meet each day with presence rather than autopilot.

The real risk was never failure. It was the quiet comfort of the familiar, and the possibility of reaching the end of life still wondering what might have been possible if we had chosen differently.

If you’re standing at the edge of your own decision, know this. You don’t need to have every answer to begin. What matters is the willingness to define your path on your own terms, guided by what genuinely matters to you.

Because in the end, while our work may fade into the background, the life we chose to live stays with us, shaping not only our memories, but who we become.

‍Taking Control of Our Narrative

Realising that we each hold the pen to our own story has been both liberating and empowering. It shifted us from passive participants in a well-worn script to active authors of what comes next.

If you’re contemplating a similar change, here are a few reflections that guided us and may support you as well.

Begin by reconnecting with what genuinely fulfils you. What brings you energy rather than drains it? What creates a sense of meaning, not just momentum?

Take an honest look at your current path. Does it align with the life you want to be living, or has it simply become familiar? If there’s a gap, consider what small, deliberate steps might help realign your direction.

Finally, define success on your own terms. True success rarely comes from meeting inherited expectations. It grows from living with purpose, intention, and a clear sense of what is genuinely useful and meaningful in your life.

You don’t need to change everything at once. But recognising that you can choose differently is often where transformation begins.

With respect,
G&T

‍